God's Will Is Not LostSample

The Parable of the Talents is rich with application. We often focus on the different actions of the three servants: the servant who received five talents and the servant who received two talents, who both doubled their master's investments, and the servant who received one talent and chose to bury it in a hole in the ground.

Why do you think the one-talent servant chose to do nothing with what his master gave him?

Read vs. 24-25 again:

"He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’"

The one-talent servant acted the way he did because he did not really know his master. He viewed him differently than the other two servants. And because he did not really know his master, he chose fear and laziness over goodness and faithfulness.

The same is true for us. How we view God will affect how we live. Because if we don’t really know God, we can’t act on His behalf.

So how do you see God?

Do you see Him as the giving God you lovingly obey?

Or do you view Him as the distant God who gives everything to everyone else so He won’t notice what you do or do not do?

I think, "Here, you have what is yours" are the saddest words uttered by the one-talent servant.

It signified his admittance that there was zero change.

Here's what we have to know when we are wrestling with living God's will for our lives:

When you encounter a living God who calls you, you change. Christ changes you. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your salvation is not merely you turning over a new leaf, but beginning a new life.

That change will be evident. There is truly no way to encounter Jesus and remain the same.

So as you step into God's will for your life, remember those words the master said to the first two servants:

"Well done, my good and faithful servant."

It's easy to get caught up desiring different descriptions. Maybe you feel like in the past you've wanted to be special. Or maybe successful. But these verses reveal to us what God measures. 

Aim for goodness. Aim for faithfulness. Fix your eyes on Jesus, and beg God to make you more like His Son every day. 

And with that as your goal, you'll never have to wonder how to find His will again.

God, thank You for revealing Yourself to us. Thank You for saving us, for loving us, for giving us a purpose, and for giving each of us a place to pursue Your will. I pray for Your love to overwhelm us and subsequently, overflow through us everywhere You take us. Here we are, Lord. Send us. We love You. Amen.

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